Ash receptacle



June 24, 1958 o. s. CAESAR ETAL 2,840,258

I ASH RECEPTACLE Filed July 19, 1954 v s Sheets-Sheet 1 Q Q Q emmmmmaso (meme-same QGQoQ aeeeewaea eeesaessm QQQQQG INVENTOR.

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ASH REcbTAcLE Filed July 19, 1954 V 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ooooodo INVENTORS ORV/LLE S. CAESAR JOSEPH 6. 87/555? June 24, 1958 o. s. CAESAR ET'AL ASH RECEPTACLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

Filed July 19, 1954 INVENTORS. ORV/LLE S. CAESAR JOSEPH G. $T/EBER ATTV'S United States Patent 6 ASH RECEPTACLE Orville S. Caesar, Barrington, and Joseph G. Stieber, Skokie, llL, assignors to The Greyhound Corporation, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application July 19, 1954,Serial No. 444,244

6 Claims. (Cl. 220-18) This invention relates to improvements in trays or receptacles for ashes and its purpose is to provide a receptacle which is particularly adapted for use on buses and other vehicles for receiving the ashes of cigars, cigarettes and the like.

Tobacco smoking has become more prevalent on buses and other conveyances and has presenteda considerable problem because of the lack of adequate receptacles in which the ashes may be placed by the smokers. The result has been that the ashes are frequently scattered over the floor or on the upholstery of the seats With obvious undesirable consequences. Where attempts have been made to provide ash receptacles for the use of the smokers, they have not met with success because of the lack ofadequate means for locating them in convenient locations or because they are frequently carried off by the passengers or for other reasons.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved ash receptacle which may be securely located in convenient locations in buses and other conveyances. A further object is to provide an ash receptacle which may be securely locked in position so that it cannot be detached by the user but can only be removed through the use of a special instrument in the possession of the bus driver or other authorized person. Still another object of the invention is to provide a device comprising an open tray portion which is adapted to receive the ashes from the smoker and which may be manipulated to discharge the ashes into a closed receptacle from which they may later be removed by an attendant. A further object is to provide a closed receptacle which is adapted to receive the ashes and which is sealed to prevent the access of air so that any further combustion is prevented. A further object is to provide an ashreceptacle which is adapted to be automatically locked in position when it is moved to the intended location, for example, on the rear side of the back of a seat'in a bus or other conveyance. Other objects relate to various features of construction and arrangement which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which one embodiment is illustrated. In the drawings,

Figure 1 shows the rear side of a portion of the back portion of a seat or chair in a bus or other conveyance with the ash receptacle of the present invention attached thereto;

Fig. 2 shows a partial top plan view of the ash tray shown in Fig. l and a partial horizontal section through the ash tray and its support, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 shows a partial front elevation of the ash tray illustrated in Fig. l, with a portion of the device shown in vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows a vertical section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;.

Patented June 24, 1958 Fig. 5 shows a vertical section taken on the line 5.5 of Fig. 2; i I

Fig. 6 shows a horizontal section'taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; p Fig. 7 shows a horizontal section taken onthe line 77 of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 shows a section taken on the irregular line 88 of Fig. 9;-

Fig. 9 shows by full lines a front elevation ofthe locking bracket by which the ash receptacle is secured to the rear side of the seat back shown in Fig. l and, by dotted lines, the outline of the ash receptacle;

Fig. 10 shows a sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 shows a sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 9; V

Fig. 12 shows a vertical section taken on the line 1212 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 13 shows an edge view of the key or instrument by which the authorized attendant may release the ash receptacle shown in Fig. 1 from its support; and

Fig. 14 shows a plan view of the instrument shown in Fig. 13.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings as being embodied in an ash receptacle 15 which is mounted on the rear side of the back 16 of a seat in a bus or other conveyance. By this arrangement the receptacle occupies a position in front of the occupants of the next adjacent seat and this plan may be followed, if desired, throughout the bus so that one of the trays or receptacles will be readily accessible to each passenger.

The receptacle 15 comprises a rear portion 17 having hinged thereto along its bottom edgea cover portion which is adapted to swing outwardly and downwardly, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4; when the contents of the receptacle are to be discharged. The rear portion 17 comprises a back plate 17a, adapted to occupy a position parallel to the seat back 16 and having formed integrally therewith the parallel outwardly extending side flanges 17b, all of which parts are pressed from sheet metal such as stainless steel or the like. The front or cover portion is similarly formed from sheet metal and comprises a front plate 18a having side flanges 18b which are adapted to fit snugly outside of the flanges 17b. The lower edge of the plate 17a is rolled outwardly to form a series of spaced beads 170 which are arranged 1 to alternate in axial alignment with a series-of spaced beads 18c formed by the rolled lower edge of the front plate 18, the lower portion of which is inclined downwardly and inwardly toward the beads to form the bottom Wall 18d of the receptacle, as shown in Fig. 4. A pivot pin 19 engages the aligning beads 17c and 180 to form a hinge for the cover. A horizontal metal strip 2! is secured to the lower portion of the plate 17a and extends downwardly and forwardly therefrom with its lower edge in-proximity to the bottom wall 18d, thus keeping the ashes away from the hinge. The chamber 21 beneath the strip 20 is preferably filled with mastic or the like, thus forming a substantially air-tight seal along the bottom of the receptacle. For ornamental purposes, the front plate 18a is preferably provided with small indentations 180.

The side flanges 17b of the back plate are provided with inwardly extending dimples 17f forming recesses in the outer faces of these flanges for engagement by pro jections 18f punched in the side flanges 18b. Whenthe.

cover 18 is swung to its closed position, the projections 18 snap into engagement with the recesses formed by the dimples 17 f, thus holding the cover securely in closed position. The side flanges 17b of the back portion are provided along their free edges with inwardly projecting ribs 17g which form grooves 1711 on the outer sides. of

these flanges. These grooves are preferably filled with mastic or the like to complete further an air tight seal when the cover is closed. The back plate 17 iscurved forwardly as shown at 17i and this curved portion terminates in'a lip or shelf 17 which extends rearwardly with its edge in proximity to the seat back 16, thus preventing the dropping of cigarettes behind the receptacle. The ends of the curved portion 171' of the back plate are continued to form partial rings 17k which are connected to a transverse angle shaped bar 17m having its extremities secured'to the upper forward corners of the side flanges 17b. The lower edge of the bar 17m is in close proximity to the plate 18a when the cover 18 is closed. The partial rings 17k and the curved portion 17i are concentric with the curved top edges 17r of the side flanges 17b and these parts form, with the curved upper flange of the bar17m, bearings for the tubular sleeve or barrel 25 which forms a temporary tray for the ashes deposited by the smoker.

The sleeve 25 is provided with a longitudinal slot 25a adapted to extend between the rings 17k to form an opening adapted to register with the opening between the forward edge of the curved plate 171' and the top edge of g radially extending handle 26a. The plug is fixed to the sleeve and the handle 26a may be operated to rotate the sleeve and thereby discharge its contents into the chamber 27 formed by the plates 17 and 18. The end of the sleeve 25 opposite the plug 26 is open but is closed, when the sleeve is in its bearings, by the upwardly projecting extension 18g of one of the end flanges of the cover.

The sleeve or barrel 25 is secured in its bearings by a spring latch 28, shown particularly in Figs. and 6, which is capable of being operated to release the sleeve only when the receptacle has been removed from the seat back 16 as hereinafter described. This latch 28 comprises a leaf spring 28a which has its lower offset end spot welded to the back plate 170, and a stud 28b which is secured to the free end of the spring and arranged to extend through an aperture in the back plate 17a into an arouate groove 26b formed in the inner end of the plug 26. The groove 26b is of such length that when the stud 28b engages one end of the groove, theslot 25a in the sleeve registers with the opening in the receptacle between the bar 17m and the top edge of the curved plate 17i, as shown in Fig. 4, and when the stud engages the other endof the groove, the opening 25a is directed downwardly as shown in Fig. 5, so that the contents of the sleeve are discharged into the receptacle chamber 27. When the receptacle 15 has been removed from the seat back 16, the spring 28a may be deflected rearwardly to withdraw the stud 28b from the groove 26b and thereby permit the endwise removal of the sleeve 25. A coil spring 29 extends between the stud 28b and the end wall of the groove 26b and serves normally to turn the barrel 25 to a position wherein its slot 25a is directed upwardly.

Foruthe purpose of securing the receptacle 15 to the seat back 16, the back plate 17a is provided with a centrally located rectangular recess 17p in which there is secured, by spot welding or the like, a bracket 30 which is in the form of a. rectangular plate having its vertical edges turned rearwardly and reversely bent to form spaced flanges 30a which are directed toward each other in a plane parallel to the body of the plate. In the area be tween the flanges 30a the body portion of the plate 30 is slitted to form two resilient tongues 30b and 300 which are bent rearwardly at angles to the body of the plate with their free ends directed upwardly.

For cooperation with the bracket 30 there is provided a second bracket31which is secured to the seat back 16 and which has its edges offset forwardly from the intermediate body portion thereof to form two flanges 31a 4- which are adapted to have a telescoping engagement with the slots behind the flanges 30a so that, when the receptacle is moved downwardly the flanges 30a and 31a interlock with each other as shown in Figs. 8 and 12, the ex tent of the downward movement of the receptacle being limited by a lip 30d formed on the bracket 30 and ex-- tending rearwardly so that it rests on the top edge of the bracket 31. When the receptacle 15 reaches a position where the lip 30d rests on the bracket 31, the spring tongues 30b and 300 snap into interlocking engagement with two slots 31b and 310, respectively, which are formed in the body portion of the bracket 31, as shown in Figs. and 11. The'tongue 30b and its slot 31b are offset vertically with respect to the tongue 30c and the slot 310, as shown in Figs. 9, l0 and 11, and when the tongues and slots are interlocked the receptacle is securely held in place, the receptacle being further sustained against movement by punched projections 17q which are formed on the back wall 17 to bear on the seat back 16 outwardly of the bracket 30.

When the receptacle 15 has been secured on the seat back 16 as described above, it cannot be removed by an unauthorized person because the spring fingers 30b and 30c are inaccessible and, at that time, the barrel or sleeve cannot be removed because the latch 28 is then also inaccessible. To permit the authorized removal of the receptacle, there is provided a key or instrument 32 having the form shown in Figs. 13 and 14. It consists of a flat plate 32 having two fingers 32a and 32b of unequal length and a transverse flange 320 at its opposite end to serve as a handle by which it may be manipulated. This key may be pushed upwardly from the underside of the receptacle until the fingers 32a and 32b enter the space between the body portions of the brackets and 31, shown in Fig. 12, and cause the deflection of the tongues 30a and 30b until they are disengaged from the shoulders at the upper ends of the slots 31a and 31b. When the bracket 31 is released by the tongues, the receptable 15 may be elevated and removed from the seat back and, if desired, the sleeve or barrel 25 may then be released by manipulating the latch 28 which is not accessible when the receptacle is mounted on the seat back.

1 Of course, the front cover 18 may be snapped out of engagement with the end flanges 17b of the back at any time to permit the opening of the cover and the cleaning of the receptacle.

Although one form of the invention has been shown and described by way of illustration, it will be understood that it may be constructed in various other embodiments which come within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An ash receptacle comprising metal parts forming a chamber having a mouth, a barrel slotted along one side, bearings carried by said parts and having said barrel rotatably mounted therein. across the mouth of said chamber for first receiving ashes therein, means secured to the rear side of said receptacle detachably securing said barrel against endwise movement while permitting rotation thereof to dump said ashes into said chamber, a support and means securing the rear side of said receptacle to said support in intimate contact therewith in a position wherein said barrel securing means is disposed between said rear side of said receptacle and said support, thereby rendering said securing means inaccessible.

2. An ash receptacle comprising metal parts forming a chamber having a mouth, a barrel slotted along one side, bearings carried by said parts and having said barrel rotatably mounted therein across the mouth of said chamber to receive ashes deposited therein, a latch comprising a leaf spring secured to the rear side of said receptacle, said barrel having an arcuate groove detachably engaged by said'latch to secure said barrel against endwise movement while permitting rotation thereof to dump said ashes into said chamber, a support,

and means for locking the rear side of said receptacle to said support in intimate contact therewith in a position wherein said leaf spring is disposed between said rear side of said receptacle and 'said support, thereby rendering said latch inaccessible. I

3. An ash receptacle comprising metal walls forming an ash receiving chamber, a support for said receptacle, a bracket attached to said receptacle and a second bracket attached to said support, means slidably interlocking said brackets and permitting disengagement of said brackets only upon sliding movement of one bracket with respect to the other, at least one of said brackets having a longitudinally extending recess therein providing a longitudinally extending passageway between said brackets, said passageway having an exteriorly located open end, a resilient tongue on one of said brackets extending across said passageway and engaging a socket provided in the other bracket to prevent said sliding movement of one bracket with respect to the other, said passageway providing a keyway into which a key may be inserted to disengage said resilient tongue from said socket and thereby permit sliding separation of said brackets and'consequent removal of said receptacle from said support.

4. An ash receptacle comprising metal walls forming an ash receiving chamber, a support for said receptacle, a bracket attached to said receptacle, and a second bracket attached to :said support and having an interlocking sliding engagement with said first named bracket, one of said brackets having sockets, the other of said brackets having resilient tongues engaging said sockets to prevent removal of said receptacle, said sockets and said tongues being spaced different distances from the bottom of said receptacle, whereby a key having fingers of different length may be inserted between said receptacle and said support to effect the simultaneous release of all of said tongues from said sockets.

5. An ash receptacle comprising, an upstanding back wall having forwardly extending flanges along its opposite side edges, a front wall hinged along its lower edge portion to the lower edge portion of said back wall for rotation between open and closed positions with respect thereto, rearwardly extending flanges along the side edges of said front wall slidably overlapping and cooperating with said first mentioned flanges and said front and back walls to provide an open top ash receiving cavity when said front wall is in its closed position, means for selectively opening and closing the top of said cavity to permit the introduction of ashes into said cavity, and sealing means secured to the inner surface of one of said walls above the hinged lower edge portion thereof and cooperating with the inner surface of the other wall for forming a seal within said cavity between said walls above said hinged lower edge portions thereof when said front wall is in said closed position, said sealing means preventing ashes from contacting the hinged lower edge portions of said walls and obstructing the passage of air into said cavity between said lower edge portions.

6. An ash receptacle comprising, an upstanding back wall having forwardly extending flanges along its opposite side edges, a front wall hinged along its lower edge portion to the lower edge portion of said back wall for rotation between open and closed positions with respect thereto, rearwardly extending flanges along the side edges of said front wall slidably overlapping and cooperating with said first mentioned flanges and said front-and back walls to provide an open top ash receiving cavity when said front wall is in its closed position, means for selectively opening and closing the top of said cavity to permit the introduction of ashes into said cavity, sealing means secured to the inner surface of one of said walls above its hinged lower edge portion and cooperating with the inner surface of the other wall for forming a seal'within said cavity between said walls above said hinged lower edge portions thereof when said front wall is in said closed position, said sealing means preventing ashes from corn tacting the hinged lower edge portions of said walls, and second sealing means on the flanges of one of said walls cooperating with the flanges of the other of said walls when said front wall is in said closed position, said first mentioned sealing means and said second sealing means preventing the passage of air into said cavity to prevent undesired burning of said ashes in said cavity when said front wall is closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,197,405 Smith Sept. 5, 1916 1,488,913 Fuller Apr. 1, 1924 1,869,753 Kamm Aug. 2, 1932 2,323,884 Will et al. July 13, 1943 2,665,103 Flora et al. Jan. 5, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 489,181 Great Britain July 21, 1938 

